First Customer Part 2

By five o'clock that evening, the telegraph ledger held thirty-one confirmed orders.

Arthur was half-mad with exhaustion and commercial elation, waving deposit tallies in the air like battle standards. Hollen had retreated to his office, declaring that if another agent sent a telegram asking about carriage paint colors, he would disconnect the telegraph wires with a cold chisel.

Ernest, Eleanor, Arthur, and Hollen dined together at Oriel that night, joined by Victor and Anna in the high-ceilinged family dining room.

The rain had ceased, leaving the tall sash windows open to the cool evening wind off the lake. Outside, the great oaks dripped steadily onto the lawns, the scent of damp earth and late-summer grass drifting through the curtains.

Arthur sat with his wineglass raised, leaning across the mahogany table. "Thirty-one, Victor! Thirty-one complete road carriages contracted before the sun set on the first day!"